How the Prophet and Apostles Met Their Wives: Love Stories from Our Church Leaders

Elder Uchtdorf and Harriet Uchtdorf

Image from Deseret News.

Elder Uchtdorf shares in his talk “Happily Ever After” that he first spotted his future wife when Harriet and her family started investigating the Church. “I think I fell in love with her from the first moment I saw her. Unfortunately, this beautiful young woman didn’t seem to feel the same about me,” he says. But Elder Uchtdorf was persistent and made sure he found ways to get close to Harriet. Whenever they had special activities at church, Elder Uchtdorf would ride his bike to Harriet’s house to take her to church. One day, her mother answered the door and said Harriet would be going to church later, but she would be happy to ride with him. Elder Uchtdorf says, “This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, but how could I decline?” Elder Uchtdorf later found out it wasn’t so bad to be “on good terms with the mother of the girl of your dreams.”

Years later, after Elder Uchtdorf finished his training as a fighter pilot in the German Air Force, Elder Uchtdorf experienced what he calls a “modern miracle." He recalls, "One day she said, ‘Dieter, you have matured much over these past years.’ I moved quickly after that, and within a few months, I was married to the woman I had loved ever since I first saw her."

Elder Bednar and Susan Bednar

Image from lds.org.

Sister Susan Bednar shares in a Face to Face event in 2015 that she first met Elder Bednar at a family home evening activity when they were both attending Brigham Young University. However, they did not fall in love with each other at that time. Elder and Sister Bednar both agree that people don’t just fall in love; they choose someone with whom they can create the love they desire. “I can honestly say we are more in love today than we were 40 years ago,” Sister Bednar says.

“Marriage is fun and demanding,” Elder Bednar says. “It can be sad, and it requires relentless work. Early on we tried to figure out how to do that work and enjoy that work.”

In his first general conference talk as an apostle, Elder Bednar shares, “My wife, Susan, is a virtuous woman and a righteous mother. . . . I love her and appreciate her more than words can express. I thank her for the woman she is, for the lessons she has taught me, and for the love we share.”

Elder Cook and Mary Cook

Image from lds.org.

According to a 2008 Ensign article, Elder Cook first met his future wife at a seventh-grade talent assembly. Elder Cook remembers, “This little-towheaded girl gets up and sings ‘On the Sunny Side of the Street.’ Even in junior high school, she had a remarkably mature, deep voice. I was absolutely amazed.”

Elder Cook and Mary had many opportunities to work together in their school years. He was the student-body president, and she was the vice president. They were also both on the debate team together. “We were friends long before we were anything else,” Elder Cook says, “I admired her before I fell in love with her, and marrying her was the best decision I have ever made.” They were married in the Logan Utah Temple on November 20, 1962.